The article examines the associations between political ideology
and level of psychological symptoms in youth exposed to terror
attacks. The study included 2,999 7th to 10th graders from various
parts of Israel. Political ideology was examined in two ways: (a)
as a content dimension: political stand—holding right, centrist, or
left wing views and (b) as a content-free dimension: ideological
commitment—which measured the strength of the political ideology
regardless of its content. Findings indicated that youth holding
right wing beliefs reported less distress. However, strong
ideological commitment was associated with higher levels of
symptoms, regardless of the political stand. The discussion
conces the differentiated role of content and content-free
dimensions of a political ideology and its implication in
psychological distress in the wake of political terror.